The #1 Mistake Marketers Make

The #1 mistake marketers make is not spending enough time and effort spotting and solving really meaningful struggles. This is often talked about as identifying an unmet or underserved need and creating a solution. I think of it as struggle spotting and devising novel solutions to previously unsolved struggles. This article focuses on a brilliant start-up, Misfits Market, as a best-in-class example of struggle spotting and solution solving.

How much of your and your marketing team's time is devoted to struggle spotting and devising novel solutions? BIG success is at the intersection of what’s truly needed (reduce / end struggle) and what’s possible (struggle-ending novel solution). This is the most meaningful marketing work – and where the magic happens.

Misfits Market is an extraordinary example of struggle spotting and devising a truly novel solution that benefits all stakeholders. This Brand is dedicated to making “affordable, high-quality food more accessible while helping break the cycle of food waste”.

The Struggle (what’s needed?):

1.????Rampant Food Insecurity – Pre- COVID, over 10% of U.S. households were food insecure (i.e., unable to acquire enough food or uncertain of where their next meal will come from). Many more were limited in variety and couldn’t afford nutrient rich foods. By late 2020, 25% of households were food insecure.

2.????Food Waste Crisis – Almost 1/3 of what’s grown in the U.S. isn’t harvested because it doesn’t meet the aesthetic standards of a traditional grocery store. It's wasted.

The Novel Solution (what’s possible?):

?Misfits Market, founded in 2018, works directly with farmers and makers to rescue organic produce and other grocery items that might otherwise go to waste, then delivers them to consumers’ doors—all while passing the savings ($25 / week on average) on to buyers. In addition, Misfit’s offerings are sustainable / earth friendly. "Every Misfits Market box benefits [buyers], farmers, helps prevent food waste, and ultimately helps save our environment." Source: Misfits Market website.

The #1 Mistake Marketers Make

As marketers, we waste a lot of time and energy on incremental improvements vs. truly breakthrough, consumer meaningful, game changing innovation. We spend time chasing internal goals such as: grow share in underdeveloped geographies, defend against a disruptive competitor, expand Brand into new product categories, take a price increase without losing share, reduce costs to improve margins, optimize marketing plan for higher ROI, etc. We sometimes "size-up" so consumers will consume more -- whether or not it's in their best interest.

As a pragmatist, I understand the need for incremental innovation and the importance of internal goals. The problem is that all these activities crowd out the art of spotting really meaningful struggles and doing the heavy lifting to devise and commercialize truly novel solutions. Struggle spotting often comes from deep ethnographic research where we can observe compensating behaviors (e.g., farmers throwing away misfit pears, people using yardsticks in laundry rooms to “stir” water in washer so the powder detergent would dissolve). ??

Misfit Markets Results

Below are excerpts from a late 2021 Berkshire Hathaway Business Wire report on Misfit Markets upon their announcement of a $225M Series C-1 round, bringing company valuation to $2B and overall funds raised to over half a billion dollars. ?

·?????On the heels of Misfits Market’s Series C round in April 2021… the company has experienced sustained growth as it makes headway on its mission to eradicate food deserts in America by 2025.

·?????With this new round, the company will continue to expand into new categories, having already doubled the selection of grocery items available to customers in the last four months.

·?????The recent debut of proteins in parallel with the launch of its Dallas, TX warehouse facility has led to more than 100,000 pounds of chicken, 48,000 pounds of steak, and 34,000 pounds of salmon delivered by Misfits Market in just 10 weeks.

"We have seen tremendous growth in 2021... We've been laser focused on building our food value supply chain... realizing our vision for a better grocery experience. Shoppers have responded, and proven there is a market and an appetite for online grocery platforms that make quality food accessible and affordable." Misfits Market CEO & Founder, Abhi Ramesh

What Meaningful Struggles Are You Solving?

I first learned about Misfits Market from LPA’s Operations Manager, Holly Black, who cannot stop talking about this Brand and how “life changing” it’s been for her. What are you working on that your customers can’t stop talking about?

A challenge for leadership is protecting time for this important, but seemingly not urgent work. It needs to be part of a balanced portfolio of effort, but allowing it to be trumped by more tactical, incremental, or internally-focused work is a big miss.

LPA stands ready to help clients uncover big consumer struggles in insightful and actionable ways. Interested in your reactions. In the meantime, I’m going to order some Misfit food.